Archive for August, 2012

After going gastric surgery, there’ll be no doubt about the fact that you’ll be keen to stay fit and healthy with a gentle exercise regime. You shouldn’t do any rigorous exercise for about six weeks after your surgery, but after that you’re good to go. Here are our top tips on how to exercise safely after surgery.

1. Start exercising before your surgery. This will help you to become more flexible and prepare your body for more intense activity after surgery, and it’ll also help with any required pre-surgery weight loss.

2. Start slow. Begin with walking in short increments. This is a great way to ease yourself into exercising. You’ll begin to tone your muscles, which will make future exercised much easier.

3. Talk to your doctor before exercising after your surgery. Your surgeon will be able to tell you when you’re ready to increase your activity level and will let you know about any specific risks that you need to consider.

4. Do 5-15 minutes of cardio exercise before strength training. Strength training is, ultimately, what will help you to increase your muscle mass, but it’s always a good idea to warm your body up with a short cardio workout.

5. Start off with 1 or 2 sets of 6-15 repetitions. You’ll be able to do more as you get stronger and build up your endurance.

6. Don’t overdo it with the weights. Use enough weight so that you can feel some resistance, but don’t strain yourself.

7. Keep a diary of your workouts. Keep track of how much you’re lifting and how many repetitions you’re able to do. As exercising becomes easier, you can begin to add weight and repetitions. A diary will help you to monitor your progress.

Exercise is just one component of your overall weight loss plan. The changes you’ll be making to your diet after gastric bypass surgery will have a huge impact on your weight loss, so don’t feel compelled to overwork your body! What’s most important is that you look after yourself after surgery.

Some of you might remember that we’re offering the chance to join the wonderful team at Secret Surgery in Wroclaw for a magical Christmas weekend away this December. On top of consultations, presentations, Christmas Market, Sight seeing and the expert services of Image Stylist to the stars Trayc Randall, here’s a little ‘taster’ of what to look forward to on the trip.

On the evening of Saturday the 15th December, we’ll be heading to the beautiful Mosaiq restaurant at 7pm to enjoy delicious food, fine wines and charming conversation! Mosaiq is, without a doubt, one of the finest restaurants in Wroclaw – or even in Poland!

To tempt your taste-buds we can tell you a little about the restaurant’s head chef, Rafal Borys. Rafal worked in Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, Boxwood Café, as well as working alongside Albert Roux, one of the top chefs in the UK.

Mosaiq serves a fusion of French, Polish and international cuisine, which gives our guests a chance to sample some local flavours alongside world classics. If you’re still not convinced, why not head to the restaurant’s website and have a gander through the sumptuous dishes on offer – I recommend the Goose Breast– that’s sure to change anyone’s mind!

The Secret Surgery Christmas Adventure takes place between December 14th and December 17th 2012. For more details, check out our Facebook event page here – We advise that you get in there early, as spaces are filling up, and are offered on a first come, first served basis. The trip will cost £350, and you can book your place by contacting us via e-mail: [email protected]

We’ve got another happy patient here today to tell us all about her Secret Surgery story. “To say I was sceptical about surgery abroad would be an understatement. I was very much against it and believed that people who went for surgery abroad were sent to filthy ‘back street’ clinics and operated on by unlicensed surgeons.”

What changed your mind? “It soon became clear to me from speaking to Angela in great detail and from research I had done myself that this certainly wasn’t the case when booking with Secret Surgery. If anything, the facilities that Angela books for her patients are very modern, clean and well-equipped with the most advanced medical equipment. The surgeons based at these facilities are also considered some of the most experienced in their fields. With this in mind, I was very confident about booking my gastric wrap (plication) surgery in Prague with Secret Surgery.”

And how was your stay there? “When I arrived at my luxury apartment I was a little disappointed that I did not have some of the items that were specified in the apartment description but with one call to Angela she was on the case and it wasn’t long before a very apologetic member of hotel staff was delivering me a kettle for my soups along with a DVD player and a selection of English films! This was very nice, as I was going to be spending my recovery time in the apartment too.”

That’s great! Did you feel safe before your surgery, then? “Well, the morning of my surgery I had the pleasure of meeting my surgeon, Professor Fried. The surgery brief was very important and he was happy to answer any questions or concerns that we had. He really put us at ease and was friendly and approachable. Following the surgery, he visited all his patients on a daily basis and had a genuine interest in our recovery.”

Did everything go OK? “I experienced a minor complication with my surgery and had a small bleed. I was placed in a priority room next to the nurses’ station and I was checked on every hour for the first 24 hours, post operatively, to have observations done. The pre-op and post-op checks were very thorough, and I felt well looked after throughout my stay in the clinic. I was also contacted frequently by Angela during this time and she kept a close eye on my recovery including speaking to the clinic staff to ensure I was OK.”

Fantastic. Anything else since you arrived home? “Upon returning to the UK following my surgery, I have had at least weekly contact from Angela and Jane, my dietary advisor, to check on my progress and offer advice with any queries or concerns I may have. The service I have experienced through Secret Surgery is first class and I have recommended this service to many other people already, and will continue to do so!”

“I look forward to my next trip abroad with Secret Surgery for the cosmetic surgery I would like when I reach my target weight. Thanks again Angela, you have been a trusted advisor and, more than that, you have become a good friend to me.”

That’s wonderful to hear! We’re always so pleased to read positive stories from our patients, and it makes everything we do that little bit more worthwhile.

For today’s Secret Surgery story, we’ve got Jo here to talk about her face and neck lifts with us. While she enjoyed her experience at Secret Surgery, she wants future patients to know all about the obstacles she faced during her surgery; whenever you undergo any kind of cosmetic surgery, there will be a short recovery time to go through, and it’s important to know what to expect.

How are you feeling today? “I’ve still not recovered full from my surgery last month. I have a wound in front of my right ear that is very slow to heal. Dr. W did warn me that the wound would take longer than the other side due a previous face lift scar which left my skin very thin.”

“I stopped smoking in February, I thought that would be OK and I have not started again. Age probably takes a part in the healing process, too. I can’t get my hair cut or coloured yet, so I’m not feeling the best.”

“Also, to ladies having face or neck surgery, please grow your hair! Dr. W had to shave sections of my hair at the back on both sides where the scars are placed. I now have bristles and small chunks of hair growing back through!” That’s good to know!

How do you feel about your experience as a whole? “I would recommend Secret Surgery, Poland and Dr. W, and the lovely Aga. Regards and thank you Angela, for the chance and experience; I’ll look back on it and smile soon, I’m sure!”

That’s great! If you’re considering cosmetic surgery, remember to make sure you understand the recovery time required after it!

When you’re preparing for surgery, there are a lot of things it’s important to bear in mind. I’m not going to flummox you with lists of dos and don’ts on everything, but medication really is an important one to bear in mind. Here are a couple of quick tips about which medications to avoid, and which to take, in the two weeks prior to your surgery.

Do not: use nicotine products, whether they’re cigarettes, cigars, gum or patches. They could impair healing, so just think of this as a good time to give up smoking! Stop using medications which contain aspirin and NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, Alleve and Advil, which can thin the blood and make you more likely to bruise. Finally, stop taking herbal medications before surgery, which could interact negatively with our anaesthetics.

Do: start using an Arnica supplement two weeks before your surgery. Arnica is a naturopathic remedy which will help to prevent bruising and will clear it up more quickly after surgery. Begin a good multivitamin supplement regime around two weeks before your surgery, to make sure you’re fit and healthy when you go into the operating room. This will ensure you heal quickly after surgery. Vitamin C supplements should also be taken, and continued after surgery, and vitamin K can also help you to stay healthy and fresh!

So, that’s it – it shouldn’t be too difficult to remember, but don’t forget that we’ll be with you every step of the way to remind you if you suddenly feel overwhelmed with information!

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We’ve got yet another glowing patient review to share with you all today, and this one comes from the mysterious Mr. Y, from London, who underwent a gynecomasty with us – also known as a male breast reduction procedure. We can add that our enigmatic Mr. Y was of Asian origin, and decided to travel out so see us during Euro 2012 football cup!

So, what made you look around for surgery? “I got tired of having man-boobs and wanted out of the club. I looked at alternatives as surgery really didn’t seem like the most attractive solution. From pills to, well, other pills – nothing seemed like a decent permanent solution. Thus, my search for a surgical option came under way. I looked at the sites online that offer to call you back once you register, and the average price was around £4000 – which was far more than I could afford, so that was that.”

“Somehow, in the middle of all this, I ended up getting in touch with Angela at Secret Surgery – or rather, she got in touch with me. She offered half the price and, such was, by default, in the lead for my custom. Frankly, the feeling of just getting it over and done with overtook my reservations about going for cosmetic surgery abroad.”

And what was it like? “The thing is, though, the hospital I ended up in was better than any I have seen in Harley Street – no, really! – and the staff were all absolute gems. The doc was very knowledgeable – the dude had a Phd. – and friendly. My local guide, Aga, was also the perfect guide! As for Eastern Europe… well, I loved it! It was clean and more friendly than France, and I certainly hope to go back someday.”

“After surgery, I have never felt the need to use any pain killers as the pain never got above ‘annoying’.” Well, good! We’re always pleased to hear that we have happy patients – and lucky for us, we hear it a lot!

Recently, Barcelona – one of the most beautiful cities in the world – has played host to a collection of experts in the field of weight loss surgery. One such surgeon who attended the conference was Dr. Martin Fried, our own weight loss surgeon here at Secret Surgery.

The conference featured only the world’s top weight loss surgeons, and featured a section on innovations and new techniques, which explored the new methods and technologies that we’re on the verge of discovering in the weight loss surgery industry, with a focus on gastric plication, which is a similar procedure to a sleeve gastrectomy.

Our own Dr. Martin Fried was the Chairman of the course, and has been working in bariatric surgery for over 25 years. At Secret Surgery, we know that the quality of our work is very important, which is why we only work with surgeons at the very top of the tree!

We also know how crucial it is to stay at the front of the pack when it comes to emerging technologies; while all of our procedures and treatments and tried and tested, we’re aware of what’s out there, and what’s coming next, and we assure you that we’ll always be offering the very best and safest surgical techniques available!